A Change Of Scenery Osceola Lawyer Stages Career Change To Film Industry

August 2, 1988|By Shanna Flowers of The Sentinel Staff

KISSIMMEE — Being a lawyer is sort of like making movies, attorney Klark Perez said a few weeks ago:

Take a set of circumstances. Spice it up with a little drama, intrigue and an inkling of doubt, and you have a good courtroom case -- or a sure-fire hit movie.

Perez, 32, will combine the best of both professions when he begins film- production school later this month in California.

He left his job as an Osceola County assistant public defender to head to Los Angeles to study film production at University of Southern California.

Movie production is the business side of film-making. Producers make sure money is available to make a movie. They make certain films are completed within the budget, and they negotiate contracts and cut deals.

''Trial work is sort of like the movies,'' Perez said with a grin.

He was one of 25 applicants accepted this year into the Peter Stark Motion Picture Production Program at USC. About 200 people worldwide applied.

''USC is the place. That's where Lucas went,'' Perez said, referring to George Lucas, the creator of films such as Star Wars and Willow.

The USC program is named after the son of well-known movie producer Ray Stark, whose films include California Suite, Seems Like Old Times and Annie.

Some of the movie industry's most talented film-makers went through the two-year program, Perez said.

''We're looking for people who are energetic, self-confident and successful,'' said a spokeswoman with USC's School of Cinematography. ''This is the toughest industry at which to be successful.''

Since Perez's high school days in Miami, his ambition has been to stroll onto a bustling movie set, command silence, then shatter it by booming those three famous words: ''lights, camera, action.''

''I've always liked movies,'' said Perez, whose favorites include the Raiders of the Lost Ark series and The Maltese Falcon. ''I'm hooked.''

He worked as a photographer while attending Dade Junior College during the early 1970s. While at University of South Florida, Perez filmed a movie written by his brother. The six-minute film won the college's art show that year.

In 1977, Perez graduated with a degree in arts and visual communication. But he was sidetracked from the road to Hollywood.

He opened a fitness center and moonlighted by shooting a few commercials. He landed a job with Eastern Airlines as a manager trainee.

After a stint in an airplane hangar, Perez decided a career in transportation wasn't for him. He sold the fitness center, packed up and headed to University of Florida law school.

After graduating from law school in 1982, Perez worked at private firms in Miami and Tallahassee before joining the Osceola public defender's office in 1987.

Despite his career changes, Perez never lost sight of his dream of becoming a movie producer. So earlier this year, he decided to apply for the USC program.

He believes his legal background will help him learn the intricacies of being a producer.

Because Florida is becoming more of a movie-industry stronghold, Perez thinks his timing is right for breaking into the profession. Eventually, he wants to move back to Florida.